Meet Gaulien "Gee" Smith: Marathon runner, HOKA fan, barber and owner of Gee’s Clippers (@geesclippers) and the owner/founder of his own health clinic, Gee’s MKE Wellness Clinic, located in his barbershop at 2200 N. MLK Dr.
From giving back to his community and doing philanthropic work to training and running his next marathon, Gaulien needs shoes to support him.
That's where we come in. Because at Goodmiles, we believe that every mile can be a goodmile.
Introduce yourself:
Gaulien: My name is Gaulien Smith. I'm a barber and owner of Gee’s Clippers barbershop beauty salon. I started cutting hair at the age of like 12 years old, 13 years old. I grew up in a family of five brothers and one sister. So dad used to cut our hair and he was far from a barber. So I asked my mom, “Can I cut my own hair?" and she said, “Okay, I hope it turns out. You're going to school just like that!” So anyway, I cut my own hair man. And the rest was history, man. I didn't decide to make it out of a career until I was about 20, 21 years old.
Why do you love HOKA?
Gaulien: What got me interested in running HOKAs was the comfort. Just way more cushion than I have ever been used to, in terms of running, the stability of my foot and ankle was not compromised by the cushion. Sometimes, you know, we have a little elevation. Maybe I think that is not as safe and stable. But, man, I really enjoyed them. I mean, it was great. I can't see myself ever running in another shoe.
What does it mean to give back to the community?
Gaulien: It’s extremely important. I live by that saying, “to whom much is given, much is required.” So I feel like there's a certain amount that I need to do, you know, just because of how I have been blessed. So it is not it is not an option for me to, you know, to give back and to do the philanthropic work that I do through Gee’s Clippers and myself.
What is a Goodmile to you?
Gaulien: What does a good mile mean to me? A mile that you ran, a mile that you completed, a mile that you truly enjoyed.
Share your running passion!
Gaulien: My friend Dr. Gamblin, he's a surgeon. He told me, “Hey man, you know, you ought to run a marathon with me.” At that time, seven years ago, I did not know exactly how many miles a marathon was. I knew it was 20 something. So anyway, him and I decided to run the Boston Marathon, and that was the worst weather in Boston Marathon history. We're talking 28 degrees, over two inches of rain, extreme winds. But I finished it. I was extremely sore afterwards. It took me roughly around a week to recover.
That marathon is what had us decide that we were going to do the six majors and we completed the six major marathons. Now we’re planning on running some more, you know, I got Sydney, Australia coming up, I'm doing Dublin, Ireland, doing Cape Town in Africa, but I've done the six majors already and it's been a fun ride and I love it now.
I would like to think 80% of running the marathon is mental, and only 20% is physical, to be honest with you, because if you can run a marathon, I don't care what time you got. I don't care if you finish in six and a half hours, 7 hours, if you finish, that tells me a lot about you!
Shop Gaulien’s favorite HOKA style here at Goodmiles!
